Political Quotes

“I will take the 2 minutes for this division, I believe. Senator Kennedy will take the 2 minutes for each of the next two amendments. This amendment is very simple. It simply ensures that the sponsors' rhetoric is reflected in the text of the bill. We have heard for years that this bill would not allow violent felons to be released from prison. As it stands now, this bill allows people convicted of carjacking, bank robbery, and coercing a minor into sexual activity and into prostitution to be released early from prison, among many other things. That is just a fact of the bill itself. The amendment that Senator Kennedy and I have offered would exclude certain specified heinous crimes like coercing a minor into sexual activity or prostitution from those prisoners who are eligible for early release. It would also ensure that no person who is convicted of any crime of violence or any sexual offense is released early from prison. That is what the bill sponsors have said all along. Unfortunately, the bill language does not reflect that rhetoric. Our amendment will ensure that it does. I know some people have called this a ``poison pill,'' which is a slogan in the substitute of an argument. The U.S. Sentencing Commission has said that even if this amendment passes, 62 percent of Federal prisoners will still be eligible for early release.…”